


The Blood, the Seed, and All That is Needed

by banditess



Category: Final Fantasy XII
Genre: Angst, Character Study, Daddy Issues, Gen, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-21
Updated: 2018-11-21
Packaged: 2019-08-27 02:01:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16693285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/banditess/pseuds/banditess
Summary: As the party makes camp at the Phon Coast, Balthier contemplates that which lies ahead.Spoilers through the Phon Coast Hunter's Camp. A very short character study because I couldn't hold all my Balthier Feels.





	The Blood, the Seed, and All That is Needed

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this in September, at the tail end of my playthrough of TZA -- my second playthrough of FFXII, and my first since the original release of the game. I enjoyed knowing Balthier's secret from the get-go. Having that knowledge allowed me to more deeply appreciate his dialogue, his little reactions in the background of cutscenes, his offhand comments. My heart was overflowing, and I knew I had to write something. But I got distracted by other things at the start of writing a second chapter for this, and I stuck the whole thing on the back burner. As you do.
> 
> Then, in October, we lost my stepfather unexpectedly. And since his passing, I've thought a lot about what it means to grieve when you had a complicated relationship with your parent, and how to move forward after they're gone. I thought about Balthier and Cid -- and I decided this piece didn't need the dynamic second chapter I had planned for it.
> 
> Sometimes, it's enough just to sit with one's thoughts and feelings.
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> _(For H., in memoriam.)_

Balthier absent-mindedly traced circles with his finger in the wet sand of the Phon Coast. Waves lapped against the heel of his foot as he sat with one leg outstretched, the other pulled tight against him, his unoccupied hand draped lazily over his bent knee. The sun had set some hours before, yet the water had retained its warmth. Balthier supposed this was not entirely surprising given how _bloody hot_ and _stiflingly humid_ the whole damn place was to begin with. The parts of his shirt that were exposed to the elements, unprotected by his vest, felt a tad damp. He was uncertain if he wished to know what the specific ratio of _condensation_ from the air to his own _sweat_ moistening the cloth might be.  
  
The party had made camp earlier, setting up their tents alongside those of the local Hunters. Some seeq fisherman had gone to the trouble of putting up a spit, setting a magicite-kindled fire crackling beneath it. Ashe and company broke bread with the Coastfolk, trading supplies, sharing tales, jests, and -- perhaps most importantly, at least from Balthier’s point of view -- information, all over mouthfuls of fish and briny ocean vegetation.  
  
The rest of the group had settled in for the evening, retiring to their respective bedrolls even if they did not necessarily sleep, but Balthier had found himself restless. The sea beckoned him, as the sky so often did. He had decided to allow himself to surrender to its song, and had walked towards it. Now, he sat in contemplation, long fingers drawing in the sand as though trying to recall some long-forgotten pattern.  
  
He felt somehow laid bare beneath the moonlight, though he’d not removed a single stitch of clothing. Perhaps it had something to do with what he had told the Princess upon their arrival at the Hunter’s Camp. Thinking on it now, he wasn't accustomed to sharing such... _intimate details_ from his own life with anyone. While Fran knew _most_ of it, not a soul knew _all_ of it. A sky pirate’s survival often depended upon their ability to play their cards close to their chest, after all. Indeed, that was what had kept _Balthier_ alive when _Ffamran_ had taken off running.  
  
He’d been just a boy -- too young by half to have been appointed to the position his father had so _generously_ gifted to him, and _far_ too young to have witnessed both the secret horrors of Draklor and the brutalities of his fellow Imperials during his short tenure as a Judge of Archades. And then to stand by and watch as his father slid into raving lunacy... Listening to Cid’s incoherent rants and trying to follow his muddled instructions was torture for anyone, but for his own _son_...  
  
Ffamran could take no more, after a time. But _gods,_ he had been audacious in his exit. He was still a bit proud of it, even now. Denying his father, refusing his name, stealing a prototype airship from the scrapyard in broad daylight, and telling the entire order of Judges to _go_ _fuck themselves_ before disappearing, never to be heard from again.  
  
He supposed he _may_ have gotten his flair for the dramatic from his father.  
  
Six years was a long time. Just long _enough_ , he hoped -- surely the people of Archades would never recognize Cid’s youngest boy, matured into a strapping young man. (Ffamran had been such a _gangly_ sixteen year-old. He’d only barely begun to fill out his armor by the time he left the Order.) He had truly believed when he set off with the YPA-GB47 -- the _Strahl_ , now -- with the Imperial City shrinking behind him, that he would never set foot on the soil of his homeland again. He had been ready to start a new life, and that had required a complete sundering of his old self from his newly-crafted identity. But Fate had a funny way of bringing things full circle.  
  
The hairs on the back of Balthier’s neck stood just that much higher with every step they edged closer to Archades. In his heart of hearts, he knew what was in store for him ahead, though he hoped he could at least talk some sense into his old man this time around. Would he even know his own son? Balthier wondered.  
  
Somewhere deep inside, Ffamran wondered too, and wept.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading. :)
> 
> The title of the fic was adapted from a line from the Our Lady Peace song ["All For You,"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m40xdKK6ErI) which fits Balthier and Cid pretty well (and hurts so good).


End file.
